CAIRO: The Central Security Forces have thwarted an illegal immigration attempt into Israel by 26 people who hold African nationalities through shared borders in Sinai, state-run Middle East News Agency reported Sunday.
The agency reported that the immigrants were referred to the prosecution. The nationalities of those arrested are yet to be disclosed.
Egypt’s borders with Israel witness incidents of drug-smuggling and illegal immigration. In February, six Sudanese people were arrested attempting to access Israel illegally. In a separate incident in the same month, two suspected smugglers were killed at the Egyptian-Israeli borders in an exchange of fire from the two countries and the smugglers, Haaretz reported.
Meanwhile at the Egypt-Gaza borders, the Egyptian authorities have been establishing a 1-kilometer buffer zone to destroy hundreds of smuggling tunnels used to transport goods, people and drugs.
Illegal immigration has resulted in several cases of abuse, blackmail, torture and human trafficking.
Egypt foils the attempt of dozens on almost-weekly basis to illegally immigrate to Europe by sea, and by land to Libya. The nationalities of those who take the risky journeys are Egyptian, Syrian, Somali, Eritrean, Ethiopian, and others.